The International Congress of Fibrinolysis to be held in Indianapolis on August 4-8, 1990, is the tenth in a series of international meetings devoted entirely to fibrin-lysis, initiated in 1972 and held regularly every other year since that date. The mission of the tenth congress is twofold. The organizing committee plans to exchange ideas. The large gains in knowledge in the areas of the molecular and cell biology and protein chemistry of the fibrinolytic enzyme system in recent years makes the Tenth International Congress particularly appropriate in 1990. Secondly, this meeting. We are promoting the meeting extensively among practicing cardiologists. Increasing numbers of cardiologists are using thrombolytic therapy to comers in the field do not have all of the knowledge of the biochemistry of the fibrinolytic enzyme system and the pharmacology of toxicology of thrombolytic agents to administer this therapy in an optimal fashion. The organizing committee of the congress, therefore, plans to present a balanced program combining invited and submitted papers on basic research in fibrinolysis with educational "state of the art" sessions providing up-to-date reviews for clinicians and pathologists participating in the management of patients undergoing thrombolytic therapy.